The Spurs are championship good

The San Antonio Spurs are the 2nd best team in the NBA. It’s the Oklahoma City Thunder and then the Spurs and you could make the argument that the Thunder are being grandfathered into that spot because they are the defending champions and have the best record in the league. With a record of 51-18, the Spurs can win the championship. Why are they this good and how can they hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June?

Let’s start with the obvious, they have one of the three best players in the whole league on their team. That is how good Victor Wembanyama is. He is averaging 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and a league leading 3.0 blocks per game on 51% from the field, 36% from three and 58% from two point range this season. He is going to run away with the Defensive Player of the Year, provided he meets the games played criteria, is going to make All-NBA first team and will probably be an MVP finalist. There is not a ton to say about him and there is so much to say. The way he scares players away from the basket by simply standing in the paint, in order for teams to score at the cup they have to get creative in taking him away from the basket. The Celtics simply matched Wemby’s minutes with Luka Garza last Tuesday night in the Spurs win over Boston to try and open up the paint a bit, taking Neemias Queta (Boston’s best center) off of the court. He had a dominant game in the Spurs win Saturday over the Hornets as well. After struggling in the first matchup between the two teams, Wemby set out to dominate the game from the get-go. He scored 32 points and had 12 rebounds in 4 blocks in the Spurs win. He is going to be the best player in the NBA one day and is the primary reason the Spurs can win the title right now.

The Spurs guard play is another reason you should have a lot of confidence in them. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are all awesome players and have become so integral to what San Antonio has become this season. Those three guards are that good and for Castle and Harper to be as good as they are this early in their career is exciting for Spurs fans. Right now, I still think Fox is the 2nd best player on the team, he has been awesome, averaging 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He has only played in 1 playoff series in his career so we have yet to see what Fox looks like in a long playoff run but he has been awesome this season and what we have seen from him in the playoffs gives me confidence. Castle has taken a leap this season after winning the Rookie of the Year last year. Averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game, Castle has been awesome this season. The three pointer is a concern, 31% from beyond the arc is something they will need to improve as the years go on but the ballhandling, playmaking and defense are all things that are awesome and very fun to watch for San Antonio. Dylan Harper is the last guard that we need to talk about. The 2nd pick in this past draft, he won’t get any Rookie of the Year buzz but Harper is a really good player who has been very underrated this season. His defense is what jumps off the screen the most when you watch him. His on ball defense is suffocating and when he and Castle share the floor, they make it really hard on guys to score. Harper has also not shot the three well this season at 30% but overall there have been a lot of signs that he is going to be an awesome player in the league.

The rest of the roster is very good as well. The starting 5 rounds out with Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. The switch from Harrison Barnes to Champagnie has been awesome, Champagnie’s three ball has opened up their offense a ton for Castle and Fox to operate at the start of games. Keldon Johnson is a legit 6th Man of the Year pick. Averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, he has been awesome in a reserve role this year. I have no idea if he is going to win the award but it would not surprise me if he did. While there is a feeling of relief when Wemby sits, Luke Kornet has been great as a backup center. He is just so steady at the position with his rim protection and rebounding, he is a really good player who is among the best backup centers in the NBA. While I don’t think he is ready for the playoffs, I also like Carter Bryant who has shown with his elite athleticism (see the dunk contest) that he is an elite defensive player but the lack of offense worries me. The Spurs have 9 guys who you trust to put on the floor in a playoff series and when you face Oklahoma City, who comes at you in waves, that is going to matter.

I do think the Spurs can win the west and win the whole thing. For the season, the Spurs are 4th in net rating, 4th in offense and 3rd in defense. Being top 5 on both sides of the floor is a pretty good indicator that San Antonio is really good, is championship good. I think the three best teams in the west are them, the Thunder and the Denver Nuggets. Let’s focus on the Thunder, who the Spurs have fared well against this season going 4-1. Wemby takes the Chet Holmgren matchup personally, he always wants to get the better of Holmgren when they play for some reason that I am unaware of. I would still pick the Thunder in a potential conference finals but it would be a long and fun series that we have a very good chance at getting.

The San Antonio Spurs are among the best teams in the NBA with real championship equity. That is how good their team is and that is how good their best player is. They have one of the three best guys in the NBA in Victor Wembanyama and he gives them a chance to win the title. Sure, it might be early for the Spurs, but Wemby is so good, he gives them a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.